April, 2026 - Azu Ishiekwene

Tinubu-Ruto Banter as Food for Thought

“Kenyans may speak the best English (which I doubt), but the economic challenges they face, which Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alluded to and drew the clap back, are real. The problems won’t be solved just because Kenyans speak in or mimic the late Queen Elizabeth’s mellifluous tone and accent. Ruto and Tinubu must brace for the messy, difficult task of fixing their countries’ economies, a task that is not a respecter of fine language”

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Is there a Backstory to Wale Edun’s Exit?

politics / Azu Ishiekwene

“If the economy is not broken, why remove the finance minister, and how could one of the President’s most trusted men be removed in a press statement that describes his removal as a “minor cabinet reshuffle,” bundling him out with another minister, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, whose name many had barely heard until his sacking was announced?”

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an image of Amupitan sitting on a chair with a pen and paper

Amupitan’s Yanga Wakes Trouble

politics / Azu Ishiekwene

“If Amupitan digs in, as is likely, and his appointor, Tinubu, indulges him, the commission will struggle to retain public trust. INEC may argue that suspicion is not proof and that, in any case, no forensic, platform-level evidence has been found against it. That is precisely what the National Assembly should do: Initiate a forensic probe. INEC is independent, but not unaccountable”

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An image of ADC protesters with logos of ADC, PDP, NNPP and Labour Party

INEC, ADC and the Latin Phrase: Another View

politics / Azu Ishiekwene

Delisting the ADC’s leaders was hasty and prone to needless controversy. Whatever its legal department may be telling the commission, Amupitan, a professor of law and senior advocate, should know that INEC’s action gives the impression that the commission is an interested party in the dispute, and calls his judgment and independence into question…I offer a comfort phrase to the ADC’s distressed leadership from the diminishing repertoire of street Latin: Potestas non est ad libitum – power is not given at one’s pleasure. It’s not served a la carte

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an image of bayo adelabu holding a candle light in a dark room

Adelabu’s Power Lines as Laundry Lines

Economy, politics / Azu Ishiekwene

“Adebayo Adelabu has performed so disastrously, saying he failed would be an honour. But it’s not his fault – it’s the fault of the President who appointed him and the Senate that cleared him for a job that he was clearly incompetent to perform, either based on his record or based on any hope of redemption”

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April 2026

Tinubu-Ruto Banter as Food for Thought

Is there a Backstory to Wale Edun’s Exit?

Amupitan’s Yanga Wakes Trouble

INEC, ADC and the Latin Phrase: Another View

Adelabu’s Power Lines as Laundry Lines